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Manji
Manji (卍 / 万次, Manji) is the main protagonist of Blade of the Immortal. Appearance He has a variety of scars on his body, with the most noticeable being two horizontal scars across his face and a verticle scar going through his right eye. His hair is usually tied in a ponytail. Personality Manji is laid back and shrewd with jaded and nihilistic tendencies. History Little is known about Manji's background except that he once served under a local daimyo, unknowingly enforcing his brutal rule on the locals until he found out his lord was corrupt and killed him. For that, he was hunted as an outlaw. He was later nicknamed "Killer of 100" after the number of police officers he killed. Plot Prologue The immortal samurai, Manji was introduced when he confessed his sins of killing a hundred men to a priest in a church. But in fact, the priest is actually Gyobutsu "Johnny", a bounty hunter in disguise. He then shot Manji in the head but Manji revived and cut off Johnny's head instead. Later, Manji returned to an inn where he was staying with his sister and where an 800-year-old nun, Yaobikuni was waiting for him. Yaobikuni was the one who put the Kessen-chu (sacred bloodworms that allow anyone to survive nearly any injury and reattach severed limbs) in Manji's body. It was also revealed that Manji's sister, Machi looks and acts like a child, though she is actually a grown woman with a husband, who Manji killed. IN a flashback, Manji is chased down by law enforcement after killing his lord and a hundred of his pursuers. He crossed paths with Saito Tatsumasa and killed him in self-defense, without knowing that he's Machi's husband. After witnessing her husband's murder at the hands of her brother, Machi had a mental breakdown and reverted to a child-like mindset. Back in the present, Yaobikuni offered Manji to give up his sword and travel with her as a monk but Manji refused to do that. That same night, Machi was kidnapped by a gang of cronies. When Manji rushed to rescue her, the head of the gang, Shido Hishiyasu wanted both his gang and him to fight one by one in exchange for freeing Machi. This is so that he can avenge his brother, Gyoubutso "Johnny". Manji, however, offered to fight them all bare-handed but Shido refused thinking that he's insane. He then released Machi but killed her in front of Manji. Manji protected her body from being further sliced up by Shido but in the process, was stabbed in the back. Later, he killed Shido and all of his gang members to avenge Machi's death. He returned to the inn at dawn while still covered with blood. Manji then told Yaobikuni that he's not going to give up his sword and that he will kill one thousand evil men to pay his act of killing one hundred good men. Yaobikuni agreed and said that the Kessen-chu will leave his body after he killed one thousand evil men. Manji later collapsed in front of the inn, out of exhaustion. Beginning A while later, Manji met Rin Asano, a 16-year-old girl who was the sole survivor of a massacre two years prior. Rin had been searching for him at the recommendation of Yaobikuni to hire an immortal and skilled bodyguard to aid her in her quest for vengeance on the man who led the massacre that killed her parents, Anotsu Kagehisa. At first, Manji refused to help her but finally agreed because Rin looked a lot like his deceased sister, Machi. Later that same night, thanks to the poems that were sent by Kuroi Sabato, a member of Itto-ryu who was also one of the men who carried out the massacre, to Rin's family's dojo, both Rin and Manji found him beside a lake. From the flow of events, Manji's legs were chopped off by Kuroi and after Rin unleashed a secret technique on Kuroi which caused his shoulders and head to explode, the heads of two women appeard on his shoulders. One of the women whose head is attached to Kuroi's shoulder was Rin's mother. Out of fury, Rin unleashed the same technique but Kuroi evaded it. Kuroi then managed to convince her to kill herself but before she could do so, Manji managed to approach Kuroi from behind and stabbed him from the back. Afterward, Kuroi was killed and both Rin's and Manji's quest for Anotsu Kagehisa's head continues. Weapons This is a list of Manji's weapons that appeared in the manga but only those with names that are compiled in this list. Shidō (四道; Literally "Four Paths"): Acquired from the samurai who killed his sister, this pair of short blades seem to be Manji's preferred weapon. The blade prongs off near the guard, allowing it to be used to catch other blades. Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa (妹守辰政; Literally Sister Defender Tatsumasa): This was originally the sword of Saitō Tatsumasa, the husband of Machi and Manji's former brother-in-law. It was forged by the famous swordsmith Toratoru Kotetsu. Manji often combines it's with Kotengu by the hilt, just like how Saitō once combined it with another katana. Kotengu (少天狗; Literally Little Devil):. A two-bladed dagger. One blade forward, the other bending to the right. Manji seems to like climbing trees with this one. After Shidō and Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa, this is the weapon Manji uses most.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 39, page 33 Aun (阿吽; Literally Om) A two-headed spear which can be folded up. Sickles: Two sickles attached to each other by a chain that extends. Manji lent them to Giichi after Manji had broken his weapon. Karasu (烏; Literally Crow): Two shuriken, originally used by Kuroi Sabato. One of them has four blades, while the other only has three, although this does not appear to be significant. Okorobi (男転; Literally Man Toppler): Merabi (女蝱; Literally Lady Gadfly): Manji calls it an "ugly sword", one which is not meant for a sheath but to cause grievous wounds by ramming it into the flesh of an enemy and pulling it out again.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 166, page 18 Abilities Immortality: Because of the Kessen-chu inhabiting his body, Manji has attained immortality. His body will always return to the state it was when the Kessen-chu were implanted, allowing him to sustain almost any wound. The only weaknesses of this immortality (according to Ayame Burando) are burning to ash, extreme cold, grievous damage to the bodily organs, starved of food or oxygen, being crushed to a pulp and drowning.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 160, page 8 Swordsmanship Expert: Manji is an expert swordsman seeing as he was able to survive a hundred deathmatches before his immortality. Weapon Master: Manji is a weapon master owing to the fact that he uses a large variety of weapons easily. It has been hinted that he's a collector. Intelligence: Manji is very intelligent and shrewd, despite his appearance. Relationships Rin Asano Manji is Rin's bodyguard. They at first have a sibling-like relationship but there are hints that suggest a romance between the two, although this dynamic rarely appears. After Rin risks her life to protect him several times, he tells her he has had enough and will leave her without a word if she ever does it again, frustrated that she is putting her own life in danger to save his. Initially, he sees Rin as quite childish and idealistic, but she proves herself and her convictions with her actions and he learns to respect her and take her seriously. He worries over her safety and carries her when she can't walk, and protects her as if she were part of his own family or something more. He not only wants to protect her physically, but also emotionally, hoping she will both learn to understand reality as well as keep her youthful idealism instead of turning into a bitter, hard-hearted person like everyone else. Magatsu Taito Manji's equal from the aspects of physical strength and fighting skills. Although Magatsu was a former member of Itto-Ryu, he joined forces with Manji to seek revenge on his lover's killer. Later, they become enemies again when he rejoins the Ittou-ryu. Shira In an incident where Rin and Shira teamed up in an attempt to defeat Anotsu in an ambush, Shira revealed his true colors when he killed three members of Itto-Ryu (which Anotsu prepared to protect a prostitute that served as a distraction so he can travel to another dojo freely) and sliced up the prostitute. Rin, horrified by the scene, tried to stop him from killing the prostitute but it only angered Shira more. When Shira was about to kill Rin, Manji appeared and saved Rin by cutting off Shira's hand. From then on, Shira swore to take vengeance on the man who took his hand. Anotsu Kagehisa Manji doesn't seem to have any strong thoughts about Anotsu, save knowing what he has done from Rin's story. Manji knows how important Rin kill Anotsu and not him, and Anotsu knows it, too. Master Sōri Quotes *(About Machi) "I commit seppuku now, she dies in a ditch somewhere, all alone..." *''"Machi...this isn't a beancake. It's horse shit."'' *''"I've got something special for you - A taste of pain... such as most people could never even dream of!"'' *''"Sure, the memories hurt. But if you can hold onto them... sometimes they can make you as strong as steel."'' *''"There must be some reason of your own that you can't give up the sword! Remember that reason! Fight for it!"'' *''"Somehow for me... It's like I'm seeing it long ago and far away. I can't get into it. I guess there's no place for me in the normal world anymore."'' *(To Rin) "If you want everyone to like you... then you can't even fart when you're out on the street." *''"Hyakurin, you devious bitch!"'' *''"I never thought you were this twisted. What do you fuckers think people are?!"'' *''"You don't gotta rush to turn into a bitter hard-case, do ya, Rin?"'' *''"Killing mosquitoes!"'' Trivia *Manji has story similarities to Himura Kenshin. Manji, like Kenshin, is seeking atonement for the people he killed in the past and they both are highly skilled ronins. However, they have entirely different personalities. *Manji has the habit of naming new weapons after their owners. *Manji likes to collect weapons and can hide them all easily inside his clothes despite their shapes, nature, and size. References Category:Characters Category:Male characters Category:Main characters Category:Immortals Category:Ronin